CK3 Roads to Power: How to get land as an adventurer

Learn how best to transition from adventurer to ruler

Paradox Interactive

Whether you’re a Norse veteran of the Varangian Guard looking to settle down or the scion of a noble house trying to reclaim their birthright, Crusader Kings 3: Roads to Power has the needed mechanics in store to play as a landless adventurer and put down roots anywhere on the map.

Table of Contents

1. CK3 Roads to Power: How to get land as an adventurer
2. CK3 Roads to Power: How to prepare a takeover

Of course, that’s easier said than done. How is a small adventuring party supposed to take over entire kingdoms? What’s more, how can you make sure that taking over governing a domain is proceeding smoothly? If you have doubts about your ability to make this particular quest work, then you’ve come to the right place.

Learn how to get land as an adventurer in CK3 Roads to Power below.

CK3 Roads to Power: How to get land as an adventurer

Although any adventurer can claim lands (and sometimes you can do so peacefully and simply by asking), one type of party is best suited for the task – naturally, that’s the mercenary army. Selecting this option as your “Camp Purpose” unlocks many useful camp buildings, which increase the number, size, and strength of your men-at-arms regiments. They also unlock special military roles for your followers, which further boost the power of your troops.

Though you can hire whichever men-at-arms you desire, you can also use your hooks on rulers from succeeding at contracts to be gifted with men-at-arms regiments. One of the biggest advantages of being an adventurer is that you don’t have to pay any upkeep for your army, allowing you to amass vast riches through war – and you’ll need those.

A mercenary camp has lots of useful buildings to increase your men-at-arms count and potency. / Paradox Interactive

Once you believe yourself to be powerful enough to take and hold some lands, you have plenty of options on how to pursue this goal. Sometimes rulers you’re fighting against as a mercenary will offer you lands to betray your employer, sometimes your employers will offer you lands in case a future rebellion is successful – but these will generally only be single counties.

Adventurers can challenge rulers for their domain out of nowhere, provided they are famous enough. / Paradox Interactive

In case you’re more ambitious, you can declare wars even against kingdom-level rulers to claim their throne – however, you’ll need to have reached a certain Prestige-level for that, so ensure to amass as much fame as you can if that’s your goal. Classic actions like using intrigue schemes to claim someone’s lands are available to you as well.

Another way of securing a kingdom for yourself is to find a sponsor. You could befriend, say, the Byzantine Emperor or the Pope and ask them to sponsor your invasion of a neighboring realm, helping you with wealth and troops.

CK3 Roads to Power: How to prepare a takeover

You should make sure that you are well prepared for such an undertaking, however, and the vital point here is money. As a mercenary, you’ll generally have a massive amount of men-at-arms at your disposal. As mentioned before, this is not an issue while you’re landless, since they are free of upkeep. Naturally, that changes when you get a domain and once more become subject to the regular rules of governing a fief.

With all of your camp buildings being no more, the number and size of men-at-arms regiments you can have are drastically reduced, and being over the limit costs a ton of money. Although a remedy against that is to simply disband most of your standing forces, you would lose the most critical advantage you have over your new neighbors.

Mercenaries have oversized men-at-arms regiments at their disposal, which pose a financial challenge after gaining lands and title. / Paradox Interactive

This is why we’d recommend building up a massive warchest before seizing a domain – you need to be ready to sustain a deficit for several years while you establish your rule and expand your new-found domain thanks to your military superiority.

Another factor to consider is that your new territories won’t be lucrative immediately in case you decide to settle down somewhere with a foreign culture and religion. Money is the sinews of war, but also of everything else, so be sure you have enough to last you for a while.

As you gain the necessary fame to claim a kingdom-tier title, you may also be getting your first marriage offers for children despite still being unlanded – naturally, such alliances may come in very handy as you conquer a territory and establish your control over it.